Ratings:★ ★ ★ ★ ★My thoughts:Beautiful story.This is a tale told by Aidan Sharpe, a 40-something very successful lawyer, probably the best in town, had a wife, money and everything. In one single mistake (stupid mistake), he lost everything... his job, wife, money, and even some friends. As an advice of someone dear to him, he went to Ocracoke Island and there he met a lot of people who would teach him what it means to really 'live' his life.I liked that this book has a male character lead, Aidan was easy to get along with. When he lost his job, it was very hard for me to accept that he just walked away after that one stupid mistake. Been around lawyers for more than 10 years and they always find ways to make people forget things. They are good at erasing memories... It was when he started his journey to this Ocracoke island I started to really love his character. Rebuilding his life in a remote town suddenly became enticing to me. I mean there are times I would get tired of everything's going on around me and I'd go on vacation somewhere I'd be on my own. Though it would take a lot of courage to do the things he did. Oh well, he lost everything so he didn't really have any choice but to take that path. Love Aidan, I could picture him in my mind and every character made a wonderful contribution in the story. One of the best reads for this year. About the book:Pride, betrayal, forgiveness . . . and the eternal sea. The Prodigal tells the mystical tale of four people on Ocracoke Island whose destiny is tied to an abandoned schooner, thought to have been lost at sea more than a century ago, that one day drifts ashore. Marcus O'Reilly, a renegade Catholic priest, must confront his inner demons. Ibrahim Joseph, a Bahamian fugitive, must face his past. Aidan Sharpe, a fallen lawyer, struggles with self-doubt and his growing affection for Molly McGregor, a fearless towboat captain who cannot find the courage to love. They will all be drawn into a 2,000-year-old mystery that unfolds with the reappearance of the ship.About the author:

Michael Hurley and his wife Susan live near Charleston, South Carolina. Born in Baltimore in 1958, he studied English at the University of Maryland and law at St. Louis University. Michael's first book, Letters from the Woods, was a collection of essays, self-published in 2005, based on wilderness canoeing expeditions with his children. It was selected as a finalist in the Nature category for ForeWord magazine's Book of the Year award. In 2013 Hachette Book Group published his memoir, Once Upon A Gypsy Moon, under their Center Street imprint. The Prodigal is his first novel.